Weigh bucket



May 23, 1939- w. E. FARRELL 2,159,689

WEIGH BUCKET Filed Jan. 22, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l Zi'. Farrell,

WKN@ um? wml@ May 23, 1939. w. E. FARRELL WEIGH BUCKET Filed Jan. 22, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 u. E w M E n .1M m

Patented May 23, 1939 UNITED STATES OFFICE 8 Claims.

The invention relates generally to dispensing hoppers or buckets and primarily seeks to provide a simple, economically manufactured unit of that character in which bitumen or like material can be weighed, maintained in the desired hot, uid state while being weighed, and then discharged or dispensed under suitable control into the aggregate with which it is to be mixed.

In the making up of aggregates for road building or similar operations, the materials must be accurately proportioned, and for this purpose they are weighed. Weighing the bitumen forming a part of the aggregates presents problems in attaining the desired accuracy, for unless the bitumen is dispensed in a suitably fluid state from a weigh bucket maintained at a suitable elevated temperature, portions of the weighed bitumen will adhere to the bucket and build up thereon progressively so as to entirely disrupt the accuracy ofk the weighing and dispensing operation.

The invention therefore has for an object to provide a novel weigh bucket embodying means for maintaining a desired elevated temperature the bitumen, and a novel rotary valve structure for controlling the dispensing of hot bitumen from the bucket, a removable and replaceable electrical heating unit being disposed directly in the valve structure, and the bucket including heat retaining pockets heated indirectly by said heating means.

With the above and other objects in View that will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by following the description, the appended claims, and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:-

Figure 1 is a central vertical cross section.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section.

Figure 3 is a side elevation, parts being broken away and in section.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the rotor per se, parts being broken away and in section.

Figure 5 is a vertical cross section taken on the line 5 5 on Figure 2.

Like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

My improved weigh bucket or hopper is formed of end walls 5 and side walls 6 which converge at their lower ends to form a longitudinal discharge throat l. The side and end walls may be fabricated in any suitable manner, as by welding. A cylindrical shell 8 is secured at the lower end oi the hopper, as indicated in Figure l of the drawings, and forms a valve chamber. The shell communicates with the discharge throat 'I of the hopper through a plurality of openings 9, and a similar set of openings I0 are disposed diametrically opposite the openings 9 and through these hot bitumen is discharged into the mass of aggregate usually contained within a mixing hopper beneath the shell 8. The apertures 9 and Ill may be of any desired shape, round or elongated.

One end of the shell 8 is closed by a wall or cap Ii, and at its other end the shell is surrounded by a flange or head I2 opposed by a clamp plate i3, the members I2 and I3 being equipped with opposed beveled surfaces I4 engageable at opposite sides with a packing ring I5 so that when the clamp plate I3 is forced against the plate l2 by the clamping screws I 6 the packing ring will be expanded against the rotary valve soon to be described in a manner for preventing leakage of hot bitumen from the end of the shell.

Side plates I1 are welded or otherwise secured to the shell 8 and hopper sides, as indicated in Figure i of the drawings, so as to provide dead air spaces I8 at the sides of the shell and bucket. A cylindrical valve sleeve I9 is rotatably mounted in the shell 8 and is equipped with two diametrically opposed sets of openings 29 adapted to register at times with the shell apertures 9, I for permitting and controlling the dispensing of hot bitumen from the hopper or bucket. A heater sleeve 2l is mounted in spaced relation within and axially of the valve sleeve I9 so as to provide an annular chamber 22 Within the valve sleeve and surrounding the heater sleeve. One end of the annular chamber 22 is closed by a wall portion 23 and the other end by a wall portion 24, and it will be observed by reference to Figure 2 of the drawings that the heater sleeve 2| extendsk beyond both of the wall portions 23 and 24. It will be obvious that bitumen flowing from the bucket or hopper must pass through the registering apertures 9, 29, thence through the annular space 22 surrounding the heater sleeve 2| and out through registering apertures 20, I0.

At its end adjacent the shell closure I I, the heater sleeve is closed by an end wall 25 which is larger in diameter than the heater sleeve and adjacent to but spaced from the shell end wall 23 so as to provide an annular chamber 26 for receiving a limiting screw 2l carried by the shell 8 and serving to prevent longitudinal movement of the valve and heater sleeves I9, 2l which move as a unit. The wall 25 also includes an arcuate Cil clearance or notch 28 dened by limiting stops engageable with a pin 29 projecting inwardly from the shell cap Il. The notch or clearance 28 preferably extends around 90 of the periphery of the wall 25 so that when the limiting pin 20 engages one stop wall it will stop rotation of the valve sleeve with the apertures 9, 20 and 20, iii in registry, whereas when the pin engages the other of the stop wall the apertures 20 will be 90 out of registry with the diametrically disposed apertures 0, l0. A handle member 30 may be secured in any approved manner to the end of the valve sleeve I9 which extends beyond the packing l5 so that the desired rotary movement may be imparted to the valve sleeve.

A suitable electrical heating element generally designated 3l is removably and replaceably mounted in the heater sleeve 2| for the purpose of directly heating the bitumen owing over and around the sleeve 2l within the valve and for indirectly heating the bitumen in the hopper and the air in the dead air spaces i8 at the sides of the hopper and the shell 8. This heating unit comprises a suitable form of electric resistance heater capable of maintaining a temperature of between 250 F. and 375 F. It has been found that the bitumen must be heated to a temperature of at least 250 F., but to heat it to a temperature exceeding 375 F. would result in an undesirable overheating tending to distill the aiiluent constituents of the bitumen. A heating unit capable of generating temperatures of 400 F. or less has been found suitable for attaining and maintaining the desired bitumen temperatures.

If desired, a similar electrical heating unit, generally designated 33, may be disposed longitudinally in each air space i8 for directly heating the air in said spaces and aiding in maintaining the desired elevated temperature in the bitumen contained in the bucket.

In use the hopper or bucket may be supported upon any suitable scale by means of the bail 32.

It will be obvious that the shape of the hopper, the bitumen dispensing apertures, and the details of construction and arrangement of the valve movement effecting and limiting devices may be variously changed without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A hot bitumen dispensing weigh bucket comprising a hopper body having a discharge throat, a rotary valve for controlling flow of bitumen from said throat, and an electrical heating unit mounted directly in and movable with the valve and removable and replaceable without dismounting the valve or removal of bitumen from the hopper body.

2. A hot bitumen dispensing weigh bucket comprising a hopper body having a discharge throat, a rotary valve for controlling iiow or bitumen from said throat, means forming dead air spaces at the sides of the body, and an electrical heating unit mounted directly in said Valve for directly heating the bitumen flowing through the valve and for indirectly heating the air in the air spaces and the bitumen within the body, said heating unit being movable with the valve and removable and replaceable without dismounting the valve or removal of bitumen from the hopper body.

3. A hot bitumen dispensing weigh bucket comprising a hopper body having a discharge throat and a cylindrical valve chamber, said valve chamber having diametrically opposed apertures therein respectively communicating between the throat and the chamber and between the chamber and bitumen discharge receiving means, a rotary sleeve valve rotatably mounted in the chambel` and having diametrically opposed apertures therein adapted to be brought into registry with the chamber apertures to permit controlled outlowing of hot bitumen, and an electrical resistance heating unit disposed axially within the sleeve and about which the outflowing bitumen must ow.

4i. A hot bitumen dispensing weigh bucket comprising a hopper body having a discharge throat and a cylindrical valve chamber, said valve chamber having diametrically opposed apertures therein respectively communicating between the throat and the chamber and between the chamber and bitumen discharge receiving means, a rotary sleeve valve rotatably mounted in the chamber and having diametrically opposed apertures therein adapted to be brought into registry with the chamber apertures to permit controlled outowing of hot bitumen, an electrical resistance heating unit disposed axially within the sleeve and about which the outflowng bitumen. must iiow, means for imparting rotary movement to the valve, means for preventing longitudinal movement of the valve, and means for limiting rotary movement of the valve between positions in which the valve and chamber apertures do and do not register.

5. A hot bitumen dispensing weigh bucket comprising a hopper body having a longitudinal discharge throat, a cylindrical shell forming a valve chamber and having two diametrically opposed sets of apertures one set communicating between the chamber and the throat and the other set constituting discharge apertures, a valve sleeve snugly fitting and rotatable within the shell and having apertures therein for registering with the shell apertures, a cylindrical heater sleeve axially disposed in spaced relation within the valve sleeve, and an electrical resistance heating unit removably and replaceably mounted in said heater sleeve.

6. A hot bitumen dispensing weigh bucket comprising a hopper body having a longitudinal discharge throat, a cylindrical shell forming a valve chamber and having two diametrically opposed sets of apertures one set communicating between the chamber and the throat and the other set constituting discharge apertures, a valve sleeve snugly fitting and rotatable within the shell and having apertures therein for registering with the shell apertures, a cylindrical heater sleeve axially disposed in spaced relation within the valve sleeve, an electrical resistance heating unit removably and replaceably mounted in said heater sleeve, said heater sleeve being projected beyond each end of and movable with said valve sleeve, means for closing the annular space between the valve and heater sleeves at each end, and means engageable with said valve and heater sleeves for preventing longitudinal movement and for limiting rotational movement of said sleeves.

7. A hot bitumen dispensing weigh bucket comprising a hopper body having a longitudinal discharge throat, a cylindrical shell forming a valve chamber and having two diametrically opposed sets of apertures one set communicating between the chamber and the throat and the other set constituting discharge apertures, a valve sleeve snugly tting and rotatable within the shell and having apertures therein for registering with the shell apertures, a cylindrical heater sleeve axially disposed in spaced relation within the valve sleeve, a heating unit removably mounted in said heater sleeve, a closure-cap closing one end of said shell and a packing gland carried by the other end of said shell and engaging said valve sleeve, said heater sleeve being projected beyond each end of and movable with said valve sleeve, Wall members closing the respective ends of the annular space between the valve and heater sleeves, a closure cap for the heater sleeve disposed adjacent and in spaced relation to one said wall member and having an arcuate clearance therein dened at the ends by stop walls, a stop pin canried by the shell closure cap and engageable with the stop walls for limiting rotary movement of the valve sleeve, and a pin carried by the shell and engageable in the space between the heater sleeve cap and the adjacent wall member for preventing longitudinal movement of said valve sleeve.

8. A hot bitumen dispensing weigh bucket comprising a hopper body having a discharge throat, a rotary valve for controlling flow of bitumen from said throat, means forming dead air spaces at the sides of the body, an electrical heating unit removably and replaceably mounted directly in and movable with said valve for directly heating the bitumen flowing through the Valve, and an electrical heating unit mounted in each said air space.

WILLIAM E. FARRELL. 

